


The Blood of the Innocent

by TheShippingGhost



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: AU, Blood, M/M, Murder, Vampire AU, Werewolves, detective Roy, vampire, vampire al, vampire ed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-29 17:38:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6385885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShippingGhost/pseuds/TheShippingGhost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampires. Creatures of the night. Blood drinkers.<br/>It wasn't Edward's fault he craved blood so feverishly. He and his brother became the most famous, but unknown, killers in America. Bodies popped up from multiple cities with their blood literally sucked dry. Many police officers were to afraid to go very deep in the case, but a detective Roy Mustang chased after it, determined to catch who was behind it.<br/>(Fullmetal Alchemist AU, Vampires)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Police are A Nuisance

_ “Last night, another body was recovered on the bank of the river. Like the others, the body didn’t have any blood in it’s body whatsoever. The police are baffled and, this time, they refused to disclose any other information. Nobody is sure who or what is causing these deaths but we intend to follow the story and-” _

A finger pressed the off button on the large screened television, cutting off the prissy looking female reporter’s sentence. Golden eyes rolled and a sigh of relief came from the lips of an exhausted day sleeper. “It’s bad enough you’ve got me up this late, did you really feel the need to turn on the news of all things?”

“I wanted to see if they found it yet,” The other voice was innocent and sounded much less tired. It belonged to a boy with hazel eyes and chocolate brown hair. Both him and his brother were awake at eight o’clock in the morning and both had just got into their pajamas because they were going to bed soon.

The room was quiet for a moment. The police were always an issue wherever they went and even bringing them up caused a seriousness to rise. They were both as good as dead if they were caught for what they’ve been doing. It was like walking on eggshells when they went out a night. One wrong step and  _ crack.  _ It was all over.

“We’ve only been here a few months, Ed. Just because they found the one from last night-”

“They’re getting faster.” This fact obviously troubled the older, golden haired brother. He took a swig from a mug of coffee that was spiked with something sweeter than sugar. “What d’ya think we should do, Al?”

The younger brother, Alphonse, just shrugged his shoulders, not able to answer. After a moment of trying to figure out something they could do about this, a groan came from him. “Brother, does this mean we’ll have to move again?”

“Yeah,” Edward sighed, knowing that moving around was always hard. New city, new apartment, new job, new name. Well, not entirely new name. The last name always changed though. Jones was their last name right now and only they knew their original surname. “They’re probably getting close to figuring something out. We better start packing.”

“Alright,” Alphonse said reluctantly. He never liked to move. It meant a lot of change and that was never fun. It seemed like they were always moving. Every few months their entire setting would change and after so many years it got old and plain annoying. Al just wanted to settle down in one house like they had when they were kids. Before the moving. Before the murders. Before all of this. 

But life would never be like that again.They needed their food source. Blood. Did they really  _ have  _ to go this far to obtain it? Moving, killing, and then moving again? Why couldn’t they be normal again? Is it really too much to ask?

 

To Ed, the answer to that question would always be yes, it was too much.

 

“We have a little while,” the blonde yawned loudly, not caring how unmannerly that was. “So let’s get some rest first. I’ll find the landlord later and tell him we have to move. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Right.” Al looked away from his brother, knowing what that meant. They only killed who they had to and they couldn’t afford to have any ties to anywhere. Which meant they had to kill to keep from being found out.

 

***

  
  


“Another one?” 

“Yes, sir,” the blonde secretary set the file on the desk in front of her boss, who was just another detective who was hired for the case a while back. He’d been following it for almost two years now. “It was a middle aged man. He was found in his home and he was just like the others when he was found.”

Frustration covered the man’s face. He waved away his assistant, knowing he needed to be alone to think. “Thank you, Hawkeye. You can leave now.”

She nodded silently, turning to leave. But before she did so, she said one last thing. “Make sure you don’t overwork yourself, sir. If you hit the wall, you may miss a murder.” She then left the office, closing the door quietly behind her.

“Right,” Detective Mustang mumbled even though Miss Hawkeye wouldn’t have been able to hear him. It was too late to tell him to not overwork. He’d passed that line two months before and he was not going back now.

It didn’t make sense.

None of it made sense!

The only thing that connected the murders was the way they were killed. All the blood in their bodies, gone. There wasn’t a tiny trace, not a single drop, that there had ever been any sort of liquid in their veins at all. Something like that was completely impossible, even for a genius serial killer.

The wounds were also surprising. There was one slit in the jugular near the bottom of the throat, but there was also traces of a single bite in the same area. Every superstitious person in the police force was cautious of the crime scenes. The signs pointed toward vampire and no one wanted to take chances. 

The only person who didn’t care that something so supernatural was possibly running around the country was Roy. Roy Mustang, the ‘Vampire Hunter’. It was a name he had earned from this case. Wherever it went, he went and every time he got close, it moved again, not leaving a trace. Most of the time.

Sometimes, whoever it was,  _ would  _ leave a trace. A single strand of hair or a small boot print in the mud, but it never led to anything. The DNA they could gather would always be considered a false-positive because it would never do anything for the case and didn’t match up either. It would just be put away with the rest of the evidence after being analyzed.

It was extremely stressful.

Kept him up late at night and got him up early in the mornings. 

Nothing matched, there was no connections, nothing clever, it was as if the murderer didn’t even want credit. It was different, non-serial killer like. The only thing that was similar was the fact the kills would happen in the same city until the police discovered a body only hours after the time of death and then it would all stop. 

Maybe this time the killer had made a mistake. Maybe he slipped up. It was a tiny sliver of hope, but it was always there. Roy always has that hope. Hope that he’d finally catch this bastard and it would finally be over.

So many deaths, but it would finally be over.

But first, he had to find that mistake. The mistake that would end the killer.


	2. The Next Kill

 

“Female. Young, maybe 26? Looks healthy,” The teenager’s eyes turned from golden to red in second as his hunger grew. It had been a long hunting night. People were getting more and more wary of the night hunters so there were barely people walking down the streets this late. “Looks like she’d be satisfying. What do you think?”

“Can’t we find someone else?” Al asked, whining. The brothers were hiding in the branches of a tree next to the sidewalk. The two were in some city in the state of Indiana. They hadn’t found an apartment yet, so their hunting was strictly one kill every few weeks. They had nowhere to store the extra blood. “You know I hate attacking girls. Can’t we wait for a guy?”

A sigh came from Edward. “Al, food is food,” He didn’t even sound sure of that himself. He didn’t like to attack  _ anyone _ , but it was an unavoidable thing. Using the lives of others to live? It was sick. All of it was just sick. “Sentiment won't get us anywhere.” This is what he had come to believe. “You know that.”

Al looked down, knowing Ed was right. It hurt to know it was the truth. “Sorry, Ed.” His eyes slowly moved back to the target his brother had been talking about. 

She was a kind looking woman with fiery red hair and sparkly clothing that suggested she just came from some party. She also looked tense. She was scared. Probably because she was walking home in the middle of the night, alone, while she knew for a fact there was many murders happening during the night in America. 

She was definitely right to be scared. She  _ is  _ their next target after all. It was sad that somebody so innocent looking wouldn’t live another day because Al and Ed had to eat. How cruel could they be? 

“So how are we going to..? You know,” Al looked at his brother expectantly, hoping he would have a less painful plan in mind. Simple and easy. He really did not like killing girls.

“This street has houses,” Edward began explaining his thoughts on this. “so we can’t afford to wait too long. She may be living somewhere near here. That also means we can’t have her yelling or it might wake up the neighbors.”

“So..?”

“So we play the ‘follow me’ card,” the blonde gave him a serious look. “Which means you need to put on your innocent act. You ready for that?”

Al, instead, put on a pouty face. “Why do I have to do it?” He hated that plan and it only worked on girls, which he hated attacking. “Can’t you?”

“I’m older than you,” Ed sighed, pointing out the obvious. He was in a sixteen-year-old body while his younger brother had one that had only aged fourteen years. “She wouldn’t fall for it if some older kid came out, asking for help.”

“I’m taller than you.” Al said triumphantly, knowing that he just pushed one of Edward’s biggest buttons. “It would work better with you doing it.” 

Al earned himself a horrid glare and was going to get a very sassy silent treatment later that night. “Fine whatever.” Ed jumped down from the tree in one swift and silent movement. He brushed the leaf pieces off of his black leather jacket and his faded charcoal colored jeans. “Come on, Al, let’s do this.”

“Coming, Brother.” Al had this victorious smirk on face. He had totally won this round. He always did win anyway. This didn’t make much of a difference. 

 

***

 

Janet fiddled with the strap of her purse as she walked down the empty, empty and dark, street. She had just gotten into a fight with her boyfriend at her best friend’s twenty-sixth birthday party and she was beginning to regret storming out of the house. The only thing she could think of was all those murders. 

Her mind began to wander into what may happen that night. Will she ever see her family again? How about Deran, her boyfriend, how heartbroken would he be to find out his girlfriend was dead. Actually, would he even care? Their fight had been absolutely horrid that night. Would that possibly change anything? No. It couldn’t. He’d be devastated to find out she was dead. Right?

No, no, no. She couldn’t worry about that. She was pissed at him for being a jackass. Acting all cool because he was around his jock friends. Who did he think he was?

She was in mid-thought when a young voice calling out stopped her walking entirely, making her heart drop to her feet in fear. She then tried to stop panicking so she could hear what the voice was saying. 

“Hey lady!” A blonde haired boy materialized from behind her. He had this set of worried, golden eyes that shimmered in the lamplight and his clothing was entirely black like an assassins.  “I need your help. My brother was climbing and he got stuck in this tree back in the woods over there. I can’t get him down!”

“Oh,” Janet almost laughed, thinking how silly she was to think she was about to die.  _ ‘It’s just a kid!’  _ she thought before asking, “Would you like me to phone the police?”

That’s when a new spark of worry filled his eyes and he shook his head quickly, “If Mom found out that we snuck out, we’d be dead in ten seconds flat.” 

The terror in his voice was enough to convince Janet to not dial 911 on her phone, though she should have. “Well, what do you want me to do?”

“Could you help me convince him that it’s not  _ that  _ dangerous to climb down,” The boy was obviously a confused older brother that wasn’t supposed to be roaming the streets this late with his sibling. He needed help, or so she thought.

 

“Right over here.” Edward stopped at the trunk of some random tree  near where Al was hiding. This girl was too easy to fool. Seriously, what sixteen year old wouldn’t be able to get his younger brother out of a tree.  “Al! I brought some help! Al?” A voice answered from behind the redhead instead of up in the tree.

“Right here, brother.”

 

Everything after that happened very quickly, though for the two boys it seemed tortuous and long, their guilt slowing down time.

First they slit the throat.

After that, most of the blood was drained into multiple different containers, for safe keeping and storage.

Then, depending on whose turn it was, one of them would bite the jugular right on top of the first wound and drain the rest. 

Cleaning up was almost easy and came naturally. They covered the wound with alcohol, which go rid of any DNA there, and there was no blood to clean up. Not a single  drop was to be wasted, so the two were extremely careful with the draining process.

The rest of the evidence they could have possibly left would not help the police at all in their search. It was a special feature that their kind  had developed. While they never looked different, the makeup of the genes in their body were able to change, making it so none of the evidence would match up with anything else they found.

There was also the clothing and fingerprints. They never left either -except for that damn boot print in the mud incident- at the scene. Not a single fiber could be found. They were  _ very  _ thorough with that sort of evidence. It was always a bit of a hassle but, they hadn’t been caught yet.

And it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

 

***

 

A dark haired figure sat in his motel room on his plain and uncomfortable bed. It was already nine o’clock at night and he still hadn’t found anything. Not that that wasn’t normal though. The room was messy with his things even though he had only been here a few days. There was a stack of files on the nightstand and clothing covering the grayish floor.

He was looking over the documents on the last murder in a set town. It was the man who was a proud owner of a few rented out apartments. Maybe this was connected to the murderer? If so, how was it?

Roy’s onyx eyes brightened with an idea. He quickly scanned the names of the renters of the different houses.There was one name that he had heard multiple times. Of course! Why hadn’t he figured this out sooner? “Edward, huh?”

He then quickly picked up his cell and dialed his best friend’s number so he could ask for assistance with this new discovery. “Hughes, I think I’ve got a lead.”

“Really?” The voice was more serious right then than usual. There were time Hughes took his job seriously. 

“Yeah,” this was usually the opposite way around. Maes was the one who usually called him, but it was over stupid things like how adorable his daughter, Elycia, was when she tried to eat a lemon. It was extremely annoying. “We’re going to have to go back through old files and towns to find out if its true or not though.”

“Meetup tomorrow I’m  guessing?”

“Noon,” Roy knew he was going to need a little extra sleep to keep his attention on this. “at that cafe down by the chinese restaurant we ate at last week.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Maes sounded like he was about to hang up but, instead, started on a new conversation about something totally different. “Oh and Roy, did I tell you about that cutie down at the market? She’d make a fine wife for you one-”

Roy quickly pressed the “end call” button and sighed in relief. “None of that now.” He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “I don’t need, or want, a wife.” He decided then to call it a day and just go to bed. He was content with his progress that day.


	3. Talks Between Friends

“So you’re saying this Edward guy,” Detective Maes Hughes pointed to the name on the paper. He was in the corner booth at some french sounding cafe with his good buddy the Vampire Hunter. “is possibly the murderer?”

“Yes,” Roy said with a positive voice. This had to be the killer. “I took the time and looked back into some of the old cases. The name ‘Edward’ pops up a lot, though the surname changes. It can’t be a coincidence.” 

Maes sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Look, Roy,” his tone was like that of a worried father. “I know this lead may seem like something big, and it might be, but I think you need to start being a little more subtle about your investigating. Remember what happened to James last year?”

A nod came from Roy as he answered, “Yeah, he was killed in his home after he had claimed to have found the vamps. All his research was destroyed and everything.” Roy then smiled as if he was sure that wouldn’t happen to him. “But, the difference between me and him is, I’m only telling one person, and I trust that one person not to go and gossip about the case.” 

“I’m just saying, Roy,” Maes leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “as a friend, I’m worried you’re gonna get yourself in over your head.”

“I could care less,” the dark haired man sat back in his chair, a sigh escaping his lips. “As long as that bastard is dead, I wouldn’t mind if I died in the process.”

Maes just shook his head, giving up. “Whatever you say, Roy. Just remember, if you go down, I’ll be the one who has to avenge you so be careful and make sure you take down the right guy if you’re going on a suicide mission.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” they had gotten to the subject Roy didn’t really like. The killing of the vampire. Like, how the hell is he supposed to do that? “I’ll try to get it right.”

“Good. Oh, and if this lead is legit, be sure to call me before running to your doom. I could help.”

“Right.”

 

***

 

“You ready to go, Al?” Ed stretched his tired arms over his head. They had just finished their last hunt of the month. He had just finished packing their blood bag filled cooler into their car, an old, almost rundown mustang that obviously needed a new paint job, but still ran well enough to use.

“Uh,” Al lips formed a very visible frown and awkwardly shook his head. “I need... some fresh air. I’m going to take a walk. Is that alright?”

Ed’s brow furrowed as he found himself confused. He opened his mouth to point out they were surrounded by fresh air, but decided against. He nodded lightly. “Yeah, go ahead.”

The golden eyes watched as the brunette figure disappeared into the park they were parked next to. As soon as he was sure Al was gone, he let out a loud tired sigh.

_ ‘He better hurry up,’  _ he thought while looking at the slight pink that lined the horizon.  _ ‘The sun’ll be up before we get home if he takes too long.’  _ Edward’s eyes scanned the sky, admiring the way it looked when it was changing from night to day. He rarely got to see the blue the sky was supposed to be colored anymore now that he didn’t stay up late, trying to be like a normal mortal. 

“Admiring the view?” the recognizable voice was coming from the trees behind Edward.

_ ‘How did he find me?’ _

Before Ed could even begin to turn to look at the guy, the brown haired man was standing next to him, acting as proud as ever. He spoke again, not even looking at Ed, “I’m sure you’re usually packed up somewhere dark by now?”

Edward of course knew the bastard. 

Seth was apart of a werewolf pack that were considered very close family friends, but they were also to be distrusted. He had grown up around the pack and Seth had been one of his friends back then. He liked Seth, actually, but the guy had a way of pissing him off.

“Long time no see, wolfy.” 

“Hey that isn’t my fault, Elric.” 

Ed scowled. “I told you before that family name is no longer mine, so quit calling me by it,” he growled, glaring heavily at the guy. “Right now I’m a ‘Gray’ not an Elric, dog-boy.”

“Oh that’s right,” Seth made it seem as though he’d forgotten what had happened, but that clearly wasn’t true. Every werewolf in his pack knew full well what had happened to him that day. “When a vampire is banished from his clan he loses his title, doesn’t he? But usually, he doesn’t drag his younger sibling down with him, am I right?”

“I didn’t  _ drag _ him down,” the vampire snarled in response.  If Seth came for an explanation, well he’s getting one. “Al came with me. I couldn’t force him back into the clan after he chased after me. I wasn’t allowed to be in a mile radius of that place.”

Seth sneered at Edward and looked displeased. “You couldn’t break the rules one more time for your brother?” the man shrugged, smirking as he did so. “Guess you’re not as noble as I thought.”

“I would have been  _ killed, _ ” Edward hissed, trying to keep his name clear of the title coward. 

“And that stopped you?”

“Al stopped me,” Ed’s eyes darkened from the thought. “He would’ve been banished for following me out and I would’ve been killed if I went back. It’s better he has me instead of living out here on his own.” 

Seth’s black eyes rolled. “How nice of you.”He suddenly looked at Edward and his mood changed as if he wanted to change the subject before Ed was left hurting. “Anyway, you’re starting to get skinny. Running out of blood lately?”

Ed sighed. “Actually yeah. Cops have been getting really close to catching us lately. I’m sure you’ve heard of the ‘vampire’ murders.” 

“That’s you?” Seth laughed a little bit, proud of his friend. “Police shouldn’t stop you, though” Seth had a little bit of worry stashed inside his usually egotistical tone.  “I’m sure you could kick a cop’s ass. You’re not as good as me, but you can fight.” Seth poked the teen’s shoulder and laughed. “Well, as long as you haven’t lost that muscle you used to have, wimp.”

“Hey!” Ed playfully punched him in the arm. “I work out even more than I did before, jerk!” That’s when he smiled for the first time in a while. It wasn’t real, but it was a smile. “I bet I could even beat you in a fight!” 

“Heh, yeah right,” Seth laughed at the boy’s hope. “You couldn’t beat me if you tried.”

Ed glared, feeling his blood boil. “You wanna bet?”

“Not really,” Seth shrugged his shoulders and sent Ed a smirk. “I know I’d win so I’d rather not waste the energy. Anyway, it isn’t fair to fight a vampire when it’s almost his bedtime.”

“Oh shut up.”

“Make me.”

“I will.”

But, before Ed could keep his promise, a loud sharp sound filled the air and Seth perked up, turning into his serious self again. “This isn’t good.”

The teenager felt confusion fill his mind and he wanted answers and he wanted them now. “What’s go-”

“No time to explain,” Seth’s form changed from human to wolf. “Gotta go.” He then howled and ran off into the trees, leaving behind a bewildered and confused vampire.

His golden eyes stared at the spot where his friend disappeared for a moment, blinked, and then just shook his head and sighed, “Werewolves...”


	4. Bars Are Where People Like to Mingle

 

When Al got back, Edward didn’t tell him that Seth had stopped by to talk. He just complained that Al took too long and the sun was coming up. In the midst of his complaining, he didn’t notice the Al was being very careful with the originally empty icebox that Al had slipped off with.

They drove off in their sportscar and left the area. There was no decent apartments there and that night’s kill was sure to fire up the police for a while. Well, if they found the woman they had strung up in a tree, of course. Actually Al hadn’t done anything. Ed had to tie her up and conceal the body. He apologized over and over the entire time. The lifeless corpse refused to respond, though.

Their next stop was a motel in the next town over. It was cheap, small, and didn’t ask questions. He only signed the sheet as “Ed” and got away with it. They didn’t even ask for his age, not that it mattered. He had a fake idea on him that said he was twenty-two.

When they got into the room, Ed began to unpack the blood from the cooler and put it into the mini fridge. They’d probably stake out here for a few days, then move onto Illinois after that. Al had suggested once that they go up to Canada, but Ed utterly refused the idea since that was the nesting area of large packs of werewolves. One of which, was Seth’s original pack.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Al messing with something inside their other cooler, their spare one, and he immediately got suspicious. There was no way that there was blood in there. They only filled one box. “Al, what are you doing?”

“Nothing, Brother!” Al squeaked before slamming the lid to the container shut. There was some scraping coming from inside as soon as the lid was down. The younger brother put his hand on top of it and shushed it.

“Oh god,” Ed’s hand found his forehead and began to rub his temples. He let out a heavy sigh. “It’s another cat isn’t it?”

The boy shook his head.

“Al, don’t lie.”

Alphonse frowned and glanced at the box. It now let off a whine in response. “I’m not lying,” he said with a huff. “It’s not a cat.”

Great, that was even worse than a cat. “Al..”

“He was lonely...” There were those puppy dog eyes again. Oh no, he was not falling for those again. That cat had almost got them killed.

Ed rolled his eyes. “Please tell me it’s not a puppy.”

The boy shuffled a bit on his feet.

The older vampire began to step towards the box to get the creature out before it caused trouble for the both of them. “No. No way. Not a chance. I am not-”

Al didn’t move to stop him. “But Brother-”

“No. No. No, no, no, no.” He grabbed the box and opened it to see what he was dealing with himself. He expected a chihuahua or a unnamable stray breed or something along those lines, but instead he was greeted by mismatched blue and green eyes. They belonged to a white husky puppy. Pure, white. It wasn’t cute, no, it was freaking adorable. “You’re kidding me.” His eyes softened and he let out an annoyed sigh. “Dammit.”

His older brother’s reaction made Al grin with delight. One more please and he may win this battle yet. “So we can keep it?”

“No.” The answer was instant, but shaky, as if something could easily tumble it down. Maybe one cute look would do the trick.

Al reached into the box and picked up the puppy. It’s tail wagged and it yapped happily at the attention. “Can we at least bring it along for a while?” He paused and tilted his head for the perfect addition to his sweet and innocent begging. “Please?”

Ed looked from the wriggling pup to the young boy. The creature gave it’s tail a few more wags and tilted his head the opposite way that Al did and the older boy just snapped. “Fine.”

“Yes!” Al cuddled the pup in a show of his victory and plopped onto his own bed. The puppy barked at him, happy only because his newest human was happy. The two then cutely curled up and fell asleep.

Edward then felt the full effect of not sleeping for  _ hours _ and fell to his bed. He didn’t even bother to take off his boots before his eyes closed and he went out like a light. With his lack of nutrition and and lack of sleep, nothing really kept him up except for impending doom, and even then there was always a chance for nodding off. Later on, when he woke up, he decided to take a break and stop by a bar he had passed on his way to the town.

 

***

 

Onyx eyes scanned over the crowded bar and squinted with slight distaste. It wasn’t because people weren’t  _ pretty  _ or  _ hot.  _ It was more because they weren’t interesting enough. It was a sad side effect of risking his life daily to the hands of a serial killer that may not even know he exists. Everything seemed less interesting to him.

There was a couple of girls he could see himself with. They were cute, yeah, but he would bet his life savings that any conversations with them would either lead to heavy sighing or possibly no talking at all. The no talking usually meant something  _ else  _ was going down.

Hughes liked to call it the “Sherlock Holmes Syndrome.” After dealing with a criminal mastermind, the detective would be bored with everyone else because they’d seem so simple. So stupid. Roy laughed at the idea and commented that if he were Sherlock, then Hughes would have to be Doctor Watson.

At the time, the idea was utterly stupid. As if hunting this killer really made him bored with simple life. But, after the chat, he started noticing the little things. He didn’t like to stop and chat with cutsie cashier at the cafe, he avoided that cute guy at the office, and it was  _ taxing _ to go on dates.

That was when he accepted his fate. He’d never get the thrill he used to when he was doing his usual schedule. One night stands were no longer a normal thing for him. He couldn’t deal out the  _ interest _ .

This case was literally sucking the life out of him, no pun intended.

Back at the bar scene, Roy was currently contemplating some light flirting with a cutie sitting dozens of seats away. The bar had some odd name and was literally in the middle of nowhere in some state Roy barely visited. Indiana. 

He had only just finished off his first glass of whiskey when a voice caught his attention. He turned his head towards it and found it’s owner right next to him. 

“Just a beer, please, nothin’ heavy.” It was a young looking person, didn’t even seem older than sixteen, but he had to be twenty one or he wouldn’t have been able to be there. He wasn’t blonde, it was more like a golden color. Very pretty. He was also small framed, but his face said business. Not the usual kid faced business, no, more like the “I could kill a man” business. Roy just couldn’t turn off his teenager-in-my-presence radar though. He was a cop after all.

The bartender handed the kid(well Roy was going to call him a kid) a beer. He immediately took a swig and gulped down maybe more than half of it. A little fast for someone so tiny. Roy found himself curious.

“Aren’t you a little young for that?” The words left his lips before he could stop them. He could tell his cop was showing, but he doubted anyone could tell. 

“Are you calling me small?” The boy asked, glancing at him with an irritated look on his face. Roy wanted to laugh. The kid took another quick gulp and turned full body towards the older man. The first thing Mustang noticed was bright, golden eyes. Cute. “And aren’t you a little old to be judging me anyway?”

Roy shrugged. “I was just saying.” He turned to look at the guy with a small smirk curling onto his lips. “You don’t even look eighteen. I’m just wondering how you’re old enough to be buying that.” He pointed to the almost gone beer.

The kid frowned at him. “I’ve got an I.D. if you wanna see it.” The annoyance he was obviously feeling was pouring off of him like an over powerful aura. The kid had height issues. Roy couldn’t blame him. He was tiny. “I’m twenty two. Not sixteen.” The sass was almost laughable.

“Could’a fooled me.” Roy chuckled. He almost found himself wondering why he was even talking to this teenager anyway, but it was blurred out by his light buzz. “But you can keep your I.D., kid. If I wanted to know your name, I’d just ask.”

The guy contemplated this for a second, then turned back to his beer. “Well, speaking of names, I didn’t catch yours.”

Roy was a detective. A police officer in the middle of the most dangerous crime he had ever investigated. He should have used an alias for this, but hey, one little dude couldn’t screw up that much could he? “Roy Mustang.” As he spoke, he motioned for the bartender to pour him some more whiskey. “Now I think it’s common courtesy for you to tell me yours.”

“Mustang, huh?” The kid rolled the word off his tongue as a small smile curled at his lips. “Like the horse?” Roy’s roll of eyes made him laugh. “I’m Ed.”

Roy took a gulp of his drink before replying. “What? No last name?”

Ed shrugged. “I’m not a last name kinda guy.”

“Well, Ed,” Roy had to test the name at least once. It didn’t seem to fit the small fry, though. It sort of felt like it should be more fancy like, “Hm. Is that short for Edward?” It was just a small guess.

The kid laughed. “Congrats, Sherlock, you figured out my first name. Good luck on the last one though.”

“Is it Cullen, perhaps?” Roy had gotten himself accustomed to all kinds of vampire in this case. That included the modern ones. He was a little surprised to find that his secretary, Riza, had all the Twilight movies, but he did sit down and watch them. Much to a lot of people’s agreement, they were way overrated and sort of way too chick-flick for his taste. Then again, he had grown up on detective tales, not love stories.

Edward immediately groaned at the mention of the Cullen fellow. “No way. That guy doesn’t even deserve the name Edward.” Nor did he deserve the title of vampire, but neither parties mentioned that.

The two of them both laughed together. The happiness only lasted a moment though because Ed soon stiffened. He glanced at a watch on his wrist and got a concerned look. “Damn, I’ve gotta go.” He sent Roy a hasty smile as he pulled money from his wallet. “See you round, Mustang.” He placed the money down and left before Roy could get a word in. 

The detective was left dumbfounded. He barely noticed a faint buzzing in his pocket and almost neglected to answer. Good thing he did, though. His best friend’s voice came in from the other side and said clearly, “You said you were in Indiana right? Well, you’ve gotta see this. Some kids found another victim in the woods in some lowdown city. The girl’s name was Janet. It’s got fangs written all over it.”

_ Well shit. _

_ _


	5. The Crime Scene

The crime scene wasn’t very gruesome compared to others. The woman was literally tied to a branch in the woods. The police were actually very lucky to stumble upon the body when they did. If the teens weren’t being stupid and rambunctious as they usually were, the lady probably would have decomposed before it could be rightfully examined.

It didn’t take Roy long to get to the crime scene, but by the time he got there, he was as sober as he could be. He had also practically forgotten the stranger he met at the bar due to adrenaline. And with everything that was already distracting him, there was also that itching disappointment he had in himself that he had been off drinking during a night like this.

He flashed his badge at a few cops stationed outside the yellow tape and was given immediate access.to the scene. He then caught up to Hughes who was standing next to where the crime had supposedly taken place. “How the hell did you get here so fast?”

“Let’s just say I’ve got good transport.” Good old Hughes and his half assed answers. 

“Well, it’s better than mine whatever it is..” Roy recalled the long car ride to the state he was in. Granted, he did like his car, it was  _ his  _ after all, he just had forgotten how cramped long rides could be. “But anyway, what have you got to report about the murder of this Janet girl?”

“Not much, I’m afraid,” the man sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “She was apparently coming home from a party and somehow ended up here. She was definitely killed by Mr. Vampire, too. She had the slit neck and bite marks. They’re loading her up in the Coroner’s vehicle right now if you wanna see her.”

The detective shook his head. “I already know what she’ll look like.” A sad look crossed his face, but then faded back to a regular, disappointed frown. “There’s no new evidence, I’m guessing?” It was a pointless question.

“No, sorry.” Maes said softly, glancing around at the grass before them. “I’m sure none of the fingerprints match up to anything and I doubt any hair will change that either.” He looked as though he wanted to sigh again, but didn’t. “Well, anyway, did you get anything on this Edward guy?”

Roy blinked, confused for a moment. How would Hughes know about the boy he met at the bar? Everything cleared up once he remembered his earlier conversation with Maes. “No,” he answered simply. Then he stopped and thought about the Edward from before. Did he really meet an Edward one town over from a murder scene that linked to a guy named Edward...? It must’ve just been a coincidence or something. That kid didn’t seem to be the murderer type.

Then again, serial killers never did.

No, no, there was no reason to suspect  guy for being named Edward. Though, the guy did seem a little suspicious thanks to the whole young look. I.D.s were easy to fake after all as long as no one looked too closely at them. Of course, he could’ve just looked young for his age, but that young? Roy shook his head, trying to shake these thoughts. 

“You sure? ‘Cause your face says differently.” 

Roy sighed. Maes knew him too well.”It’s nothing, I’m just a little out of it.” It wasn’t really a lie, he couldn’t pin anything on the boy. “Guess I need sleep.” He yawned and pulled off a full body stretch to help prove his point.

Hughes looked him over with a sharp eye, then complied. “Hm. You probably haven’t got a good night’s sleep in weeks.” He was right. The violets under Roy’s eyes only proved this. “If it has anything to do with the motel atmosphere, I’m sure my Gracia would gladly let you stay at our place.”

The other man sighed. “No, I wouldn’t want overstay my welcome.”

“Nonsense!” Hughes grinned a patted his friend on the back. “You’re always welcome at our house. Little Elycia misses her Uncle Roy a whole lot. And Gracia wouldn’t mind the extra company.”

The offer sounded great, amazing actually, but he had already staked out which motel he’d be staying at and he didn’t want to clutter their guestroom with his overload of case files. There was also the long drive and Roy didn’t want to deal with that. Especially if this was the place the murderer would be nesting at next. “Sorry Maes, but no, I can’t. I’ve got to stay with the case.”

“You’re working yourself into the ground,” Hughes said with a frustrated huff. He kinda got why Roy was doing so, he was really the only cop on the case, but the whole suicide mission idea that Roy was capable of accepting was more than a little concerning. “At this rate, you’ll die of exhaustion rather than because of that vampire.”

Roy only shrugged. “It’s not really that bad.”

“Seriously?” Maes was shocked. How could the guy not tell how unhealthy his habits were? “Well, I just think you need to get some sleep, okay? It’s hard to imagine that you used to be the office slacker back in the day.”

“I’m sure he still finds a way to slack off,” a female voice said from behind them. Ah, yes, here was where the scolding would be laid on heavy. The secretary was here. “He is still the detective Mustang we all know after all.”

Roy turned to his blonde associate and laughed. “I can’t believe you still doubt me, Hawkeye.”

“No offense, sir,” Riza had a small, knowing smile on her lips. “But I’m very sure that the higher ups are still waiting for last weeks report.” She then quietly, but sassily, counted on her fingers another number. “And even not including that, there’s still four other documents that I sent to you that are still missing.”

Roy’s grin faltered and he let out an awkward chuckle. “I guess they must’ve gotten lost in the transfers then.” If lost meant sitting neatly in a file in the center console of his car, then yeah, they were lost.

“Right.” Both Riza and Hughes shared a laugh then. Well Hughes laughed aloud and Riza giggled behind her hand. Roy only rolled his eyes at the two of them. Then checked the time with his watch. It was nearing one in the morning.

“Well, I better get going if I’m gonna sleep at all tonight.” He was right. the sun would be up in what? Five hours tops? “Call me if you find anything okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Riza said the same time Hughes said a sassy, “Will do, Mr. Holmes.”

“That’s Detective Holmes to you,” Roy joked before turning on his heel and leaving the scene. He drove to the motel he had picked out and barely made it to the bed before he collapsed. His sleep did not come fast, though, since his half awake thoughts constantly lead to the Edward fellow and how there was no way a kid could kill. The name fit though. But then again, the name Edward wasn’t uncommon either.

 

***

 

Ed shuffled into the motel room at midnight and found his little brother playing with a puppy on his bed. “Did you eat?” he asked in the most manly motherly way he possibly could. Judging by the empty blood bag on the nightstand, that was a yes. “What did I tell you about leaving these out?”

Al calmed the pup by putting a hand on it’s head and looked towards his brother apologetically. “Sorry. I was going to, but I got distracted.” The puppy licked his hand and he giggled a bit. His smile faltered, though, when he looked directly at Ed and sniffed the air. “Brother, you smell like alcohol.”

“It was jus’ a beer,” Ed said, plopping down on the other bed that he had dubbed as his. His stomach growled angrily at him and he sighed. His tongue rolled over his sharp canines and he glanced over at his younger brother.  “Hey, would you grab me a bag, Al?”

The younger brother nodded and did just as he asked. When Ed grabbed it, he wanted to sneer at how cold it was, but was too lazy to even think about heating it up. Drinking cold blood was like eating candy for dinner, but didn’t taste as good. “Thanks.”

Al was a clean drinker. He used the plastic tube to suck up the blood like a straw. Ed does the same thing when he’s in the car or has to be discreet, but at a time like this, he just bared his teeth and bit down. The blood splashed into his mouth. It wasn’t coppery like how it would taste to a human, but tasted somewhat like bitter syrup since it was cold and not fresh. Under normal conditions it would mostly taste like sweet candy, but depending on the person, it could change.

He swallowed mouthful after mouthful and he felt his stomach began to fill. Despite the bad quality of blood(not to mention it was A negative... his least favorite), he felt vampiric energy begin to thrum through his veins. It was a satisfying feeling. It used to make the killings feel worth it, but nowadays, he felt a nagging sadness everytime he killed a human.

The bag was drained and he set it down on top of his brother’s equally empty blood container which earned him a pout from his brother. “You told  _ me _ not to do that.”

“Well, I was just copying you.” He wiped at his mouth, checking his sleeve to see if he had gotten anything on his face. The answer was no. He was completely clean. “Anyway, it’s not like were going to have a maid. I told them no room service. And we’ll only be here a few days, too.”

“Where will we be going next?”

Ed simply shrugged. “I dunno. But I think we should drain someone else while we’re here.”

Al face twisted into confusion. “How come? We have enough to last us a week.”

“Well, we usually don’t just drain two people somewhere and then leave,” the older explained. “so, we’d be... breaking the pattern or something. Maybe the cops’ll think these kills are copycats.”

Al shuddered at the word “kill” and he went quiet after that. His canine friend was immediately concerned about him and climbed onto his lap. The whining that followed suit was annoying as hell, but Ed decided to ignore it for his brother’s sake. He knew Al had it worse than him in the death department. Al was always a sweet kid. He had cried when their dad had let it slip where real blood comes from.

Ed wished they could still get those blood substitutes, but those were strictly held in their home community. They weren’t allowed there and Ed had no idea how they made it. It had something to do with iron, but he didn’t get the details. Nowadays he wish he had, but he had been ignorant back when he was kid. Ignorance is the way to bliss, after all.


	6. People Aren't Always What They Seem

 

Two days and nights passed before the two of them were ready to kill again. Well not ready, but a little prepared. In that time, both of them did absolutely nothing but deal with their new puppy. Ed was really frustrated by the fact that he can’t just feed the thing blood. He had to go out and buy dog food. Actual dog food. And he had to buy it at a dollar store, during the day.

Other than that, nothing happened at all. 

Well, they did find out that their previous murder was  _ already  _ found and thoroughly investigated by the police, but that’s beside the point. And, even though that was an issue, Ed hadn’t changed his mind on the second kill  _ then  _ leaving just so he could be confusing. They weren’t out of blood yet, but they were running low on time. Extra blood couldn’t hurt, but that also meant more blood on their hands sooner than normal.

Ed could tell that Al was still shaken up by the last one. He looked like he was going to be sick when they got out of the car to stalk into the park. “You know, you can stay here, I’ll be able to take care of this.” They had left the puppy in the safe motel room with food, water, and air conditioning.

His brother shook his head quickly. “No, Brother, I’m okay,” he lied with a soft voice. He would like to stay in the car more than anything, but he knew that anything could happen during hunts. Once, the man had a gun and shot Ed in the shoulder in some sort of defence. There wasn’t any serious permanent damage, but he still has the scar.

The answer made Ed just sigh. He then started to walk, motioning for Al to follow. The walk to find a good stakeout area was silent and felt weirder than usual. Ed had the oddest feeling that something bad would happen tonight. He brushed the feeling away immediately since what they were doing was  _ killing  _ people so of course there would be a huge taste of bad everywhere they looked. 

They both decided on a tree in the very center of a circular walk path in the park. It was still covered in dark, green leaves and hid them easily while not blocking their view at the same. And now, they waited. Neither made a sound. They knew better than to talk  because that could give them away in heartbeat.

An hour passed before anybody appeared. It was actually surprising that someone walked through the park that late at night. It was what? Three in the morning? Ed suspected they’d be waiting a few more hours. At first, all the the person was was a shadowy figure walking among trees. Ed couldn’t see squat, but he could hear and smell them. The blood pumping through their veins left a nice “thu-dump” in its wake and the smell said that they were sweeter than most...

And Ed sort of felt like he had smelled it before, too. 

Al tensed up beside him as he, too, noticed the person. He immediately assumed they’d be getting to work as soon as possible.

Ed geared up to go even though they had to wait for the person to pass.

The figure got closer and closer and the sounds and smell became more intense. Ed’s eyes began to glow a dangerous shade of red and he could  feel his teeth budding from his gums. His knife suddenly felt heavier in his pocket. Tonight was his turn to drink, so he had avoided eating the entire day so he would be hungry enough to forget that this kill wasn’t necessary.

The prey was only feet away now. Ed slowly felt his humanity slip away as he prepared to pounce. He was ready for murder.

Then the figure stepped out into the moonlight.

A face he knew was now walking past their very tree. Black hair and what he knew were onyx colored eyes were what decorated the face. Granted, last time he saw the guy, he was all smiles and obviously edging on a buzz at the bar. Now, his lips were curved into a frown and his eyes filled with deep thought. His look of concentration was only amplified by a locked jaw line and tense shoulders.

It was that Roy Mustang fellow.

Ed slumped back on the branch, his sanity returning, despite his hunger. His younger brother stared at him with doe eyed confusion, but stayed silent and relaxed just like his older brother did. He didn’t dare ask what was going on since Ed would refuse to answer until the coast was clear.

Despite Ed’s absolute need for him to leave, the man stopped a moment. He was so preoccupied with his oh so important thoughts that he forgot to walk. With him so close to the tree, Ed could smell the sweet blood so well, he was surprised the scent didn't’ give him a toothache or something. 

Then there was the heartbeat. He thought the sound was horribly loud before, but now the thumping was so close, it felt like it was his own heart pumping blood against his eardrums. He could barely breathe thinking about it. Usually that’s what made the thrill of the chase, the mix of senses and the inability to control himself. Now, it was just a serious problem.

There was also other sounds that overrode his thoughts as well. A ticking noise, like a watch.  _ Tick, tock, tick, tock.  _ And a pattern of breath that did not match his chest falling and rising. The very slight scratch of Roy’s nails running across jacket fabric as he fidgeted with his sleeve.

Ed tried his best to keep his breath still and silent, but he couldn’t even hear his own breathing over the heartbeat. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered why he didn’t just go for it and he felt a disgusted feeling rise in his stomach. He had talked with this guy. Had human-like conversation.

He would not kill him.

There was the fact to consider that he would’ve killed  _ anybody  _ else that could have walked past the tree, but this guy, just because he had spoken to him, exchanged laughs, he- well he just couldn’t. There was no way he’d be able to through with that.

So he sat, and he waited for him to go.

After what felt like hours but was probably only a minute, the man finally left and Ed finally got in a good breath of air. The insanity faded but left a ghost of a bad feeling, like a bad memory or nasty aftertaste. The heartbeat didn’t disappear until minutes after, but all the rest was gone almost instantly. 

His fangs, although somehow defiantly, slid back into his gums and his eyes shone gold now, instead of red. Now he was left surprised at his own level of self control. Al  was shocked for an entirely different reason.

“Brother, are you okay?” he asked in a fast, worried whisper. Ed had forgotten he was there, but Al had seen his pain and was left silently concerned that whole time. “Who was he? Do you know him?”

Ed groaned internally at the thought of explaining what had just happened. “I- uh. He was nobody. I just didn’t like the smell of his blood-”  _ yeah right, that’s believable,  _ “-smelled kinda sour-”  _ Actually it was the opposite.  _ “-I didn’t want that taste in my mouth.”

Al’s face said that he was definitely calling bullshit, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he went a different route. “You let yourself get hungry enough to smell from here?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the older boy was silently thanking his lucky stars for such a perfect brother. He really didn’t want to touch the subject of Roy Mustang ever again, not that Al knew the guy’s name. “It’s only been a couple of days, don’t worry, I won't berserk.” The silent  _ “this time,” _ was left off of the end of his words.

Al shuffled a bit in the tree so he could look down instead of at his brother. “Okay.” He paused a moment, then asked, “So now what?”

Ed moved to lean against the treetrunk, relaxing. He was pretending that nothing had happened only moments ago. “We wait.”

And that they did. For another ten minutes that is. Two late nighters? Really?

This time, the shadow walked along the trees with speed, as if it had somewhere to go. It smelled as though it had been dropped in a dumpster compared to Roy. The man stepped into the moonlight and was revealed as a muscular man, in the football sense. The top of his head was covered in unnaturally colored black and blonde locks and his clothes were oddly white compared to the darkness. He was probably in his thirties, and probably would be hard to take down, but challenges were something he liked.

This, this was someone he could work with.

The man was passed the tree before Ed even got his knife in his hand. Ed motioned for his brother to follow, then dropped gracefully onto the ground. Al landed just as quietly beside him. This was when the younger was motioned to stop and stay while the older moved ahead. 

Ed focused in on the target. The man was still moving fast, so he just had to be quiet and quick at the same. Like a fox or something. It took a minute to get to somewhere he could easily attack with few fatal errors, but when he saw an opening, he did just that. He lunged, from behind and grabbed the guy. Despite him being made of muscle, Ed pulled him down with ease. Now if he could just-

Before he was even able to get his knife fully ready, the man let out a high pitched(and very girly) scream.  _ God dammit, he’s a screamer,  _ he thought as his blade swung down and slit the neck. The scream turned to choking at first and then faded into silence.  _ There. I hope no one heard him. _

 

***

 

It was late. Roy had just filed away the case for the night, but he was getting the feeling that despite the fact it was two-thirty in the morning, he wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon. It was getting to be bothersome, sleeping that is. Usually when he woke up, he found that he missed something important and cursed himself.

He knew that the dark color under his eyes probably meant something was wrong with his habits, but there was no way he could change them without forfeiting the case. He also saw himself avoiding certain meals, or maybe he was just forgetting to eat? 

He knew that what he was doing wasn’t too productive. Scanning files over and over and over again to try and crack a clue other than a first name, but getting absolutely nothing was starting to make him think this was pointless. He kept pushing on through despite that. 

He kept his phone close and the internet on his laptop loaded so he could keep up to date on everything anybody had to offer him.

Trying to sleep was going to be useless, he could tell. So he decided, why not just for a stroll... to think things over, of course. He had seen a park on his way to the motel and it sounded like a good idea at the time. So, he slipped on his shoes and coat and went for a nice relaxing walk.

He lost track of time and soon it was some time after three. His phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and looked at the text. 

**you better be asleep right now**

His eyes rolled. Hughes was always too worried about him. This case was no different than any other... well it was, but there was still a killer and the end result would be the murderer getting caught. 

His thoughts began to drift back to all of the victims. Nothing linked them other than the fact they had been brutally murdered and drained of blood. Lots were men and lots were woman. Their ages ranged from twenty to forty and they all had different types of blood. This description was so vague, it made  _ him  _  in danger of attack.

Of course that had never happened yet, and even if it did, he’d be prepared.

After a while of thinking, he realized he had stopped in mid-walk somewhere along the way. He was at a standstill near a tree that wasn’t very particularly odd so he ignored it and then went on his way.

As he walked off, he thought that he may of heard small whispers drifting in the wind. He wrote them off as sleepy hallucinations and continued on, deciding he’d rather walk about the park than try-to-sleep-but-not while the killer may be striking his next target. Was he truly that much of an insomniac these days?

He hadn’t really thought about his own health in a while. Maes, of course, had, but Roy was much more focused on what was happening with all these murders. As he reached the thought that maybe he should... well take a break for a while... he immediately felt disgusted with himself. Why should he be more important than all of those that are already dead?

When did this mindset even become his? What did this case do to him?

He sat down at a park bench to think things over, but found he only confused himself with opposite feelings about what he should do.

He was soon shocked out of his thoughts by a girly scream from somewhere in the park he had already been. He jumped up and immediately, without second thought, took off so he could see what had happened.

It couldn’t be the killer, could it?

Minutes later he arrived where the scream happened. He caught a glimpse of a dead man, bloody and bitten, in the grass and he went for his gun. His holster wasn’t even at his hip.  _ Dammit. I left it in the motel room.  _ Without a weapon, he wouldn’t dare go barreling in by himself. The man that was dead looked stronger than him and he doubted that his wit would save him when up against a monster. So, instead, he hid behind a tree and listened. He was surprised to hear a young voice, no more than fourteen, speak.

“Brother, I don’t think we have enough bags,” it said sweetly. They made it sound as if that were a normal problem in this situation. “We’ve been running out lately.” Who was he even talking to?

A frustrated groan sounded from a different direction. “Looks like we’ll have to start recycling from now on. Well that, or we could add theft from a blood bank to our list of offenses.” Roy had heard that voice somewhere before. It was practically unforgettable. “Well, actually, it would save us some time and labor since we’ll just get blood then and there, plus the bags.”

There was a short pause and audible sniff in the air.

“Crap.” The older.

“Huh? What is it?” The younger, now confused.

“How did he even...?” Again the older, trailing off before finishing his sentence.

“Brother?”

Another short pause. Roy was starting to feel anxious about the silence. They couldn’t possibly have seen him right?

“Oh,” it was the younger voice. Roy couldn’t tell whether the tone was shocked or fearful. What did they notice?

There was a bit of shuffling and a loud snap of a twig that came towards his tree, but they did not go any further. “I know you’re there, Mustang.” It was the Edward guy

_ Shit. _


	7. Nothing Really Goes As Planned

Roy gulped and placed his hand at his hip to create the illusion he did have protection(he had to pretend he wasn’t an idiot) before stepping out from behind the tree. There he saw two boys, one he knew and one he didn’t. The first thing that caught his eye was a small flash of red in the iris of the older one’s eyes before they returned to gold. The second was a hint of blood at the edge of the same one’s lips. “Well.. this is awkward.”

“Never thought I’d meet you again,” Ed said softly. In his voice, there was a hint of what sounded like... pity? Disappointment? He then looked frustrated. “Dammit. I tried to avoid this... I really did.”

“Again?” The boy beside him looked confused. “Brother, how do you know him? I thought you said-” 

Edward frowned in the general area of his younger brother and snapped at him, “I know what I said, Al.” Then his eyes slid back over to their current issue. Roy. “Look, I don’t want to have to hurt you.” He was honest about it, but the sentence sounded rather deal like.

_ I don’t want you to hurt me, either,  _ Roy thought. “Does that mean you’re going to let me go?” It was the obvious question to ask a mass murderer.

That had an equally obvious answer, “No.”

“Why not?” Roy asked. His shooting arm was beginning to ache, being held up with nothing to lean on. He silently wished he had brought his gun. This wasn’t looking like it was going to go well for him.

“You’re a cop, aren’t you?” The blonde answered with a question.. His eyes narrowed in a show of distaste. “Nobody else would just have a gun at the ready... unless you’re just crazy or something. But I doubt that, since I’ve met you already and you didn’t  _ seem _ crazy.” As he rambled his hands moved to his words in some big show offy way. He realized what he was doing and sighed. “Anyway, my point is, I’m not going to let a cop go who knows what my face looks like.”

“I saw your face last time,” Roy said smugly.

“I didn’t know you were an officer last time,” the other sharply retorted. Beside the blonde, there was a confused brunette with wide, concerned eyes. The poor kid had been lied to apparently. What was his name, Al? Well, Al’d seem a hell of lot more innocent if he hadn’t just been an accomplice in an extra bloody murder.

The innocence all but left his face in a split second and was replaced with pure frustration. “Brother, you need to explain what’s going on. At least to me. You said you didn’t know him before.”

The blonde seemed a little shocked by his brother, but explained anyway. “We met at the bar the other day. We talked. That’s it. Nothing big.”

_ Then why are you so scared to kill him?  _ was the question that formed in the younger boy’s eyes, but was immediately replaced with regret and a taste of disgust, probably in himself. He went quiet after that and let his older brother go back to talking to the man.

“Anyway, now that I know about your job,” Ed sighed again. “Sadly, I can’t let you go.”

Roy’s gun hand tightened a bit, as if there was actually a gun he could grip. “Then what are you gonna do to me, Pipsqueak?” They were on good terms before, but now that the continuation of his life seemed less and less likely, he decided to up his sass a bit.

An eyebrow twitch and a heated glare was the result of his antics. “Who do you think you’re callin’ small, Musty!?” were the words that spewed from his furious lips. He caught himself a moment later and seemed to mumble a curse under his breath. Was he trying to act cool or something? “I mean, I-I’m gonna have to take care of you.” The stutter lessened the intensity of the threat.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” Roy warned. He had to admit that he was really keeping his cool on the outside. The inside was full of rushed thoughts and leaps of adrenaline. His heart thudded loudly and sent loud tha-dumps into his eardrums. He could also feel his palms begin to sweat, along with his forehead. He was freaking out.

Ed crossed his arms in the most sassy way a little guy like him could and he shook his head disapprovingly. “Or what? Are ya gonna shoot me with your invisible gun?”

He knew? ...No, there was no way. He was bluffing. Had to be. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The blonde sniffed the air. “I don’t smell gunpowder on you. Guns need gunpowder.”

_ Dammit.  _ This made Roy sigh and drop his hands. Death was staring him straight in the face now. “So what now? Does this mean you’re gonna kill me?”

Something that resembled pain flashed across the shining pair of golden. Then they flashed back to their more common glare. “Yeah, pretty much.”

And that was that.

The world went in slow motion for a split second. Edward immediately came barreling at him and Roy had to hold out his arms in defence. Before he covered his face he could see as Ed’s face filled with pure, animalistic rage. His eyes flooded with a deep crimson color and his teeth grew into sharp, flesh ripping fangs. Roy would forever deny how scared he was in that single moment.

The force hit him so hard, he was knocked to the ground. His back hit the solid earth first and the air left his lungs with a loud “oof”. There was a body above him, straddling his hips. It was lighter than him, but stronger, since it held his arms down with ease. His heart’s pace shot up like a rocket and he struggled against the hold.

Now, better than before, he was able to get a good look at the boy’s face, but in the heat of the moment, he really didn’t care, much. The face above him had shifted once again, though, and was now filled with sullen regret. Edward did not want to do this.

Roy noticed the hesitation, but didn’t stop fighting. “Let. Me. Go. You little runt,” he growled out, trying to get away still.

There was no short tempered response this time. Only a quiet apology. Then there was a soft pair of lips on his cheek. There were gone as soon as they came, only a butterfly of a kiss, but it happened all the same. Then he heard a loud snarl and prepared his neck for some sort of attack.

It didn’t happen.

In another split second, something came tramping from the woods. Edward’s weight disappeared as he, himself, was tackled by a new threat. From the growling and the bite sounds, Roy could only assume that some stray dog had come to his rescue. He was too shocked to really process much other than that, though.

“Brother!” the loud shriek brought Roy closer to his senses. He looked over and saw a horrified, younger vampire standing off to the side while the older was being nipped at by a pissed off... what was that? A husky? A wolf?

Ed was not just taking it lying down, either. He was biting and clawing right back. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, you stupid mutt!?” he shouted at it. The retort it gave was to sink it’s teeth into the flesh of the guy’s arm. Even Roy had to wince at that. “Ow! Get off me!”

That’s when Roy realized he had been wasting time. He could be escaping right now and there he was, watching a wolf kill his attacker. His attacker who was the kid who he met at the bar the other day. The one that seemed to be more human than most serial killers.

_ Godammit. _

He alway knew this moment would come. The moment where he had to choose between helping a killer or letting him suffer. In most cases, he decided he’d let the guy go out in the worst way possible, but as he stared at the event unfolding before him, he felt that choice had the bad kind of karma behind it. It was just a kid after all. And the little brother was watching, too.

So he helped in the only way he could. In a flash, he was on his feet and moving. He grabbed the wolf from behind and pulled it back until it let go of the vampires arm and started snapping at Roy instead. Mustang of course, was careful to keep it in a headlock. That way it couldn’t turn and bite him easily. The force of it all, shoved him back onto the ground.

Ahead of the struggling duo, was shocked vampire. Not only had he been interrupted during his attack by a werewolf, but his prey was actually wrestling the wolf now. There was no words he could use to describe how grateful he was that he hadn’t killed Roy a second faster.

Al was shocked, horrified, and terrified. He was frozen to where he stood, almost like a statue had he not been shaking. So much had happened in the past few minutes and he could barely process it. Through the the haze, the first thing to come to mind immediately rolled off of his tongue as he ran toward his fallen sibling, “Brother, are you okay!?”

Ed didn’t reply. He was simply staring at the battle in front of him. It was pretty one sided and the winner was already decided but the wolf continued to struggle and whine consistently at it’s captor. It’s whines were intertwined with deep growls, so Roy didn’t let it go.

Suddenly the wolf seemed to shrink in his hands. It’s fur disappeared and it’s limbs straightened out. It’s paws became feet and hands and the top of it’s head sprouted blonde locks of hair. Not golden blonde, like Edwards, but beach blonde. Her fur did disappear, but she was not naked. She had on normal clothes for a teenage girl. A jean jacket and a skirt. As soon as she was finished shifting, she seemingly passed out and her head fell limp against Roy’s shoulder.

“What... was.. that?” Roy breathed. 

The two boys ignored his question and just stared at the girl, who stayed limp in his arms. They looked generally shocked, but they were vampires so it couldn’t have been the werewolf thing. That could only leave-

“Is that Winry?” Al asked softly.

-they were shocked because they knew the person.

Ed pushed himself of the ground with a grunt and gripped at his bleeding forearm. His eyes scanned her over and he shook his head. “No, no way. She is- well she was human. She didn’t want to be anything but that.”

“So you know her?” Roy asked as he shifted to look at her face.She was young. Probably the same age as Ed. She was petite, pretty girl with a baby face. He couldn’t believe she was the one who just went on a ravenous attack. Especially since she was a wolf before.

Ed nodded stiffly. “She was a friend.” 

“Didn’t part on best terms, huh?” Roy commented smugly. He hadn’t put the memory of Ed trying to kill him in the back of his mind just yet. He was still pissed, but decided to not show it. 

He received a glare. Then the same eyes glanced down, and then away. “You could say that.” It was a bad memory, Roy could tell.

The man began to stand up. He shifted the girl.. Winry?.. in his arms so he was carrying her bridal style. She was motionless, like a ragdoll, but definitely breathing. He could tell by the rise and fall of her chest. “What am I supposed to do with her?”

“Nothing,”  _ you’re supposed to be dead.  _ Edward frowned up at the girl now, but couldn’t keep his eyes on her. “You give her to me, and then-... then you leave, you got that?”

Roy complied to the first order. He couldn’t help but notice how easily he held her with ease, despite his size. Then he was more defiant. “If I leave now, I wont stop tracking you,” he admitted. He wasn’t going to lie.

“I know that,” Ed just shrugged it off as if that didn’t matter. He then promptly turned away from the man and began to walk away. Roy was about to leave, too, but was stopped when Edward looked back one last time. “How about you just pretend this didn’t happen.”  _ Don’t hate me for what I’ve done. _

“I can’t,” the older man barely got out before the teen and his kid brother disappeared into the trees, the girl with them. The only thing left, and what was entirely ignored until now, was the dead man’s body. 

The man had no complaints on the lack of attention, obviously, but was looking very pale and very dead. Mustang tried to erase the thoughts of  _ “If I had been a bit faster he might’ve-” _

He glanced at the dead guy, a shock of guilt ran through him, and he sighed. He was gonna have to call this in immediately... but what was he going to say? He pulled out his phone and considered dialing 911... no, he’d seem suspiciously calm to the dispatcher... Instead, he clicked over to his contacts and went down until Hughes’s name was highlighted.

It rung a couple of times before a groggy, but familiar voice said, “Roy?”

Roy took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair, and said, “Maes, something happened.”


	8. Moonlit Thoughts

 

An hour. Hughes told him he had an hour to rid the scene of his DNA and disappear into the night before “some bystander” found the body. How Maes could possibly pull something like that off, and why he knew how, was totally past Roy. Honestly, now that he knew the monster he’d been searching for all this time was just a teenager and his baby brother, he was beginning to question his serious search and just wanted to sleep.

After the fiasco in the park, cleaning included, Roy made his way back to his motel room with a nasty taste still in his mouth. He had explained the situation to Maes with vague details. He didn’t include anything about the real vampire thing, the wolf girl, or Edward from the bar because Roy was still a little baffled himself and couldn’t possibly expect Hughes to understand.

The phone call ended right after he finished up his tale. This was because he almost fell asleep in the middle of one of Maes’s sentences. After hanging up, he almost fell asleep again at the motel’s table. His legs didn’t want to lift him, he knew, and the chair wasn’t uncomfortable. He willed himself up from the chair regardless since he didn’t want a crick in his neck in the morning. Before getting in bed, he made sure the door was locked with both the chain and the knob, and he double checked to make sure the window couldn’t open.

He thought hitting the pillow would be lights out, but apparently, his Sherlock Holmes brain buddy decided differently. His mind was in hyperdrive as soon as his eyelids slid shut and all he could do was run every bit of information from the scenes in his head, letting them piece together like an elegant puzzle.

He’d already gotten the name part. The long string of Edwards was almost too obvious. Same with the blood draining stuff. Now the teeth marks on the victim's, similar but one being a bit smaller. Brothers, not just one. The DNA was never the same because they weren’t human. The random killings weren’t the work of a mastermind, but instead two hungry brothers, so the little amount of connection fit. 

Long blonde hairs were sometimes common at a scene. He now knew why. Also the boot print seemed to match that of the tall boots the vampire wore. He hated to think that when he met Edward, he thought he was cute and interesting. He also hated that his mind couldn’t see the kid as anything but cute and interesting.

The blood sucking would be a turnoff though, you’d think, but no.

Maybe there was just something wrong with him. Maybe this case is giving him a serious case of infatuation with something that shouldn’t be touched. It was almost like fate wanted to taunt him by swinging a big piece of interesting in front of him, but making it taboo to take. He doesn’t even know Edward. Well actually, he does know him now. He knows that he’s a vampire who’s killed people, he’s got a cocky stance, but hesitates to kill, and he’s got a little brother who hates killing. He’s also short in height and in temper.

What else do you need to know about someone?

He sighed then fell asleep.

Hours later when he awoke, he was pretty groggy. He didn’t even open his eyes for the first minute or so because the sun was shining directly on his poor face. He sat up, eyes still closed, and began to rub his face, urging himself to wake up. Finally, his eyelids slid open. The first thing they were graced by was the face of the vampire. The one who was sitting on the front of his bed.

His hand shot for his gun, but it wasn’t on the nightstand where he had left it. He looked and saw it at the end of the bed in front of Edward. Great, defenceless again. “I’m guessing you’ve come to finish me off?”

“Not really,” Edward replied. He was sitting in a bit of an awkward position. Crouched at the very end of the bed. Normal people would either be very uncomfortable or would fall. “I would’ve already finished the job if that’s why I was here.” He was right. Why wait until he’s awake to kill the man? That would just result in some unnecessary screaming.

“Then why are you here?”

Edward made an odd look, as if questioning himself. “Not sure. I thought I was going to threaten you or something, but after looking around I saw that you wouldn’t leave us alone  _ anyway _ . Dunno why I’m still here though, I could’ve just left.”

“Yeah, you could have,” Roy said, sitting himself up. He felt very awkward, being still in his sleeping spot. If anything, he hated being startled in a place where he should be able to feel safe. “So why not?”

Edward shrugged. “Torn between making sure you’re okay and wanting to rip your throat out.” He said it so nonchalantly, it stung. “That’s what I usually do. Take care of business, but you’re always hard to kill.”

That’s a good thing, Roy thought. “Why?  I’m always defenceless.”

“Quit asking stupid stuff,” Ed said, frowning towards him. There was a silent ‘You know why’ at the end there. “Anyway,” he slipped from squatting and fell into a position in which his legs were crossed. “what did you do about the crime scene?”

“The crime scene?” Roy gave him a shocked expression. Why was he acting like this is a normal thing? Natural enemies meeting up and discussing things like sophisticated people? “Look, kid, I don’t think you get it-”

“I get it.”

“What?”

“I said: I get it.” The vampire sighed. “We’re supposed to hate one another. You’re some kind of hunter and I’m a vampire. I kill people, you kill me. And you hate me, I get that, but I don’t hate you.” He shrugged his shoulders once again. “I just can’t hate you.”

If only this kid knew what Roy had been thinking about before he fell asleep. All of those thoughts rushed him again right now and he realized he felt the exact same thing. They’d only met twice, but that spark when they first met and the internal turmoil the second time, they made for a weird emotional recipe. Both of them felt it, too. “I don’t hate you,” was all he could say in the end.

This just made the boy more frustrated. “And why the hell not? I’m a murderer. That’s why you’re chasing after me, right?”

“Yeah,” Roy frowned. If Ed was going to admit things, so would he. He’d later regret admitting it, but for now, it’s all he could do. “I really wanted to catch you. I wanted to be the one to put a stop to all this shit, but I can't.”

“Is it because I’m a kid?”

“I don’t know.”

The curtains had  been opened while he was asleep. The moon poured into the room, illuminating Edward’s pale face almost majestically. It left beautiful shadows in only the right places. His eyes seemed to glow in dark, golden and shiny, and his hair was in a beautifully woven braid. The braid hung over his shoulder today, rather than stay in the back. Different, but still the same.

The boy noticed how Roy was watching him, but didn’t speak about it. They both had fallen silent. Edward turned his own attention to the bed, but he knew there was still eyes on him. He was embarrassed and the moment both felt awkward, but extremely necessary for them to find out about what they were as people.

Ed had never felt human in his life. He killed everyone in his way, because otherwise, he couldn’t live. When he made conversation with someone who wasn’t his brother, it didn’t last and it never continued past the first time. He felt like a monster. 

Roy on the other hand was human, only human. He was never special until he was the main man of this case. He thought killers deserved punishment and people deserved safety. He never thought he’d think of a killer as anything but a monster.

But Edward was beautiful.

“I should leave,” Ed finally pointed out. “My brother is waiting for me.”

Oh, right. They were still enemies in this world. “Alright.”

 

***

 

When Edward returned home, Winry was still asleep in his bed. Al and the puppy were in the other. The sun was only just coming up, so he assumed Al was just tired from all that happened that night. He settled down on the floor, instead of trying to squeeze onto one of the beds.

He leaned against the wall and started trying to sort out his thoughts. He was frustrated, angry, and he couldn’t figure out what was really wrong with him. He had an idea, but he didn’t want to believe it so he didn’t.

His fingers traced over a hard bump under his shirt sleeve. These were bandages he’d wrapped his arm with before going to see Mustang. He’d had to clean and disinfect the wound he’d received from Winry, since even rapid healing wouldn’t fix a deep werewolf bite. If he were human himself, he’d have to worry about being one of the damned things, but he wasn’t, so it was more like a regular dog bite. 

There was no reason as to why a werewolf would be attacking him. He didn’t do anything to their dumb pack and if he had, it wouldn’t be bad enough to have a hit on his head. Anyway, he realized, they wouldn’t send Winry for that, but what did he ever do to her? If anything, she should be apologizing to him.

About an hour later, the werewolf girl on the bed started to shift. Ed didn’t notice until she was already sitting up, staring at him with wide blue eyes. She looked equally horrified and surprised to see him. She had just about killed him a few hours before, so Ed wasn’t exactly pleased to see her either. 

He stood up, in case he’d have to defend himself from another surprise attack. Thankfully, she was much more relaxed now. “Edward, I haven’t seen you in months,” was the first thing out of her mouth. 

Did she not remember attacking him, then?

“Well, biting me wasn’t really the hello I deserved, huh?” Ed crossed his arms. He did not plan on taking this lightly even if she didn’t remember. There had to be a reason he was attacked and a lack of memory wouldn’t excuse it. 

Winry just looked bewildered. “I bit you?” 

“Yeah.” His hand tapped his bandaged wound, even though she couldn’t see it underneath his sleeve. “You would’ve killed me, too. At least, you tried to.” But Roy had saved him. “Got any explanation?” 

Winry continued to make faces of surprise as she went quiet. Ed wasn’t sure whether she was just thinking or if she was hesitating. It took a long moment for her to think of an answer for his question and she didn’t sound like she wanted to give it. “A toddler went missing from the pack. He wandered off and I was looking for him.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“My wolf form must’ve smelled him on you.”

Ed gave her a frustrated look. Did she actually think that was a good reason for her to have attacked him?  “Does it look like I have a toddler anywhere around here? There’s a puppy, but-” he stopped, remembered his friend was a  _ werewolf,  _ and then eyed the twitching pup next to Al. “Oh.”

**Author's Note:**

> Published on Fanfiction first. I work on it in bursts. Also might rewrite the first few chapters, as they are old and could use lots of touch ups.


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